by Zaheer Cassim and Janelle Dumalaon, USA TODAY Sports

by Zaheer Cassim and Janelle Dumalaon, USA TODAY Sports

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Oscar Pistorius was granted bail, allowing him to go free while awaiting trial in the shooting death of his girlfriend, a magistrate ruled Friday.

Pistorius, an Olympic and Paralympic track star, is charged with premeditated murder in the death of Reeva Steenkamp.

In a decision that took nearly two hours for him to explain, magistrate Desmond Nair said Pistorius is not a flight risk and does not show "a propensity for violence" or constitute a risk to the community.

Bail was set at 1 million rand ($112,803) and a court date was set for June 4. Pistorius has been ordered to surrender his passport and refrain from contact with witnesses for the prosecution. He is not allowed to use prohibited substances or alcohol and is subject to testing, the judge said.

"The issue is not guilt but whether the interests of justice (are served) in relation to bail," Nair said. "I am not seized with finding beyond reasonable doubt whether he committed premeditated murder. â?¦ At this stage, I have to examine the facts the state has presented â?? all the state has right now is circumstantial evidence."

Pistorius' family expressed gratitude to the judge after the hearing, the Associated Press reported. "We are relieved of the fact that Oscar got bail today. But at the same time we are in mourning for the death of Reeva with her family," Pistorius' uncle, Arnold, told news reporters.

Before issuing the ruling, Nair read a full recap of statements and evidence in the hearing. He detailed how friends of Pistorius had noted that the couple "hit it off" and "were very much in love." Pistorius sobbed through parts of the hearing.

The judge spent 30 minutes detailing in a chiding manner how the chief prosecution witness, police inspector Hilton Botha, "blundered" when he misidentified a substance found in Pistorius' home. Botha also failed to collect crucial information or seize material evidence and possibly contaminated the scene, Nair said. Police removed Botha from the case Thursday.

"Even so, he is not the state's case," Nair said, referring to Botha. "The investigation is at an early stage."

But the judge added that he had difficulty believing elements of Pistorius' version of events. "There are probabilities that need to be explored. â?¦ (Pistorius is the) only one that knows what happened."

Police say Pistorius, 26, shot and killed Steenkamp in his bathroom where she was hiding after an argument on Valentine's Day. He says he accidentally shot Steenkamp because he thought she was an intruder.

Prosecutors argued before Nair's ruling that Pistorius is a flight risk.

"(Pistorius) is treating it as, 'Let me go, let me carry on my business as usual,' " prosecutor Gerrie Nel said. "But it can't be business as usual."

But Pistorius, a double amputee, isn't a flight risk because his prosthetic legs "need maintenance and adjustment on a monthly basis," defense attorney Barry Roux said.

In his ruling, Nair detailed Pistorius' assets in South Africa and the athlete's strong ties of family and friends in the country.

When the case goes to trial, a judge will decide Pistorius' fate. There are no jury trials in criminal cases in South Africa.

Roux introduced culpable homicide as a possible charge for Pistorius.

"He did not want to kill Reeva. He had no intent to kill Reeva," Roux said.

The fourth day in court was more subdued than earlier in the week when the hearing resembled a full-blown trial with detailed arguments and evidence presented by both sides.

Pistorius' case took a dramatic turn Thursday as police announced that its lead investigator had been replaced. Botha, who testified earlier in the week, faces attempted murder charges from a 2011 case. The charges stem from an incident in which Botha and two other police officers allegedly shot at a minibus they were trying to stop.

The charges revealed against Botha had originally been dropped in March 2012 but were reinstated Feb. 4. Nel said he learned about the charges Wednesday.

The decision to remove Botha from the case came a day after the detective appeared to damage the prosecution's case against Pistorius. Botha testified that police had found nothing inconsistent with Pistorius' account of the events that led to Steenkamp's death.

Earlier in the hearing, Botha said needles and testosterone were found in Pistorius' bedroom. The defense said the substance was herbal. A spokesman for South Africa's National Prosecution Agency said the substance was being tested.

In spite of the prosecution's missteps, many South Africans, riveted by the case, are more convinced of Pistorius' guilt than his story.

"All his stories sound like lies," Ryan George, 28, of Johannesburg, said before the magistrate's ruling was announced.

Others said Pistorius, a national hero in South Africa, assumes that his celebrity status affords him special protection and that he probably will get away with murder.

"No doubt that he wanted to kill her," said Andre Van Biljoen, 54, of Johannesburg. "If you look at his attitude at the Paralympics, you can see this guy is a narcissist."